After being nominated twice for Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards, SoftLipa has became an indisputable superstar in the Mandarin-speaking hip-hop community. He is famous for rapping over jazz hip-hop beats, creating a very chilled and laid-back feeling. On his first concert tour on Chinese mainland, he takes some time out to speak with Shanghai Daily at Repulse Bay Culture and Art Center last Saturday.

(photographed by Yoyo He)

Q: What drives you to do this national tour and why did you name the Shanghai gig “Sleepwalk?”

A: I think all my partners on stage and myself are in good form at the moment. We’ve also just finalized the model upon which a cool concert should be performed.

The reason I called the concert ”Sleepwalk” is I am really interested in knowing and talking about dreams, when people release their true self and be free. There are two songs on my new album, “My Internal World,” that are about dreams. I encourage fans to wear pajamas to the concert and even wearing a patch to focus on feeling the music by heart.

Q: What’s your suggestion to young rappers who are still striving to make it?A: First of all, practice makes perfection. For me, I also listened to and studied numerous jazzy hip-hopsongs such as Sound Provider’s music works when I was at entry level.Secondly, I try to create new songs in a soothing environment to allow myself to reach a state of tabula rasa and find a new way to looking at the same things from different angles.

I also have a habit of writing down every small idea in my daily life thatoccurs to me. It could be just one sentence or a story in one-frame. Once you get the inspiration, try to choose an appropriate beat and record an audio file. Then play it again and again to see if anything needs to be modified later.

Last but not least, you must have the courage to break through the bottleneck of creation that is always encountered by young rappers. Never give up and keeppracticing. One can always figure out his or her own style and enter a new phase of creation.

Q: What’s your next project and who do you want to collaborate with most?A: My next album will be named “Open to the External World.” I will spend more time writing new songs and music productions for it. Currently,I’d like to collaborate with pop and folk vocalist Tsai Chin, who has a powerful voice. For mainlander rappers, J Fever and Lu1 has done a great job and it would be nice to work together.

Q: What do yout think of these songs that has been banned by the ministry of culture recentlyincluding music works of your friend ChangCsun Yuk?

A: I am really confused by this and I don't know why these songs are banned. But I don't think it will bring huge influences to these singers since most of the music works are their old works. What's more, I've heard that it can even help a song getting more popular after being banned by goverment.